Some poultry species are subjected to a feed restriction period during a specific part of their life cycle. During this restriction period the animals receive little feed, and feel very hungry. In addition, they have a continual opportunity to peck in their feeder pan. Consequently, although there is little or no feed in the feeder pans the birds continually peck in the pans. Moreover a continually decreasing number of countries permit beak cauterization or trimming of commercial poultry, a prohibition introduced in connection with animal welfare. Consequently the animal's beak remains razor-sharp throughout the life cycle. As a result feeder pans constructed from cheaper types of plastic exhibit wear over the course of time, and can even be perforated by the birds' beaks.
It is already known that wear of this nature can be avoided by providing the pecking area in the feeder pan with another wear-resistant material. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,934 shows an abrasive surface provided on the feeding surface of a feeder pan. As a result the birds' beaks are automatically abraded and trimmed as they feed. The abrasive surface is obtained by bonding small abrasive particles directly to the surface. In a variant these adhesive particles are bonded to a carrier, such as film, which is in turn adhered to the feeding surface of the feeder pan.
One drawback of this is the adhering of the abrasive particles to the feeder pans, since these are usually manufactured from polypropylene, a type of plastic that is non-glueable. A further drawback can be that the granular structure of the abrasive particles determines the rate at which the beaks abrade. This can be too fast, or too slow. In addition, there is a risk that some of the abrasive particles may become loose, as a result of which they may enter the feed and, consequently, the birds' stomachs. This will then, in particular, occur during the aforementioned feed-restriction period in which the birds often peck in the feeder pans. The local loss of the abrasive particles will immediately result in weak points that are susceptible to wear, and the feeder pan may even be perforated by the birds' beaks at these points. This risk of perforation by the birds' beaks is also present at the small gaps between the abrasive particles.